A Major Success for the RC Skydivers

The parachute itself has a wingspan of 165 × 70 cm. Currently, the parachutes feature a 7-cell system. Once the parachute is deployed, the jumper controls the model using their arms—that is, left, right, and braking. The inner workings of such a model consist of a receiver unit with a rechargeable battery, three servos—each with 10–15 kg of pulling force—and a beeper. If a jumper is ever blown off course by the wind and “hides” in difficult-to-navigate terrain, the locator beeper is very helpful in finding the precious model again.

What was on display at the Euro in Langenthal delighted the spectators; many were seeing it for the first time. Fifty-one pilots from five nations (Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, and Switzerland) were registered. Young girls and boys, women and men—both genders were very well represented. Forty-three volunteers from MG Langenthal were on duty for this championship. That’s almost one volunteer for every pilot. Bravo!

The weather was kind to the organizers; sunshine and the occasional cloud painted a beautiful picture in the sky. At times, strong winds blew, but this didn’t faze the pilots. With over 496

Easy to see: the parachute's 7-cell system.

In this competition, the “Skydivers” were towed by carrier aircraft to a starting altitude of approximately 300 m, where they were released at the pilots’ discretion. After the free fall—which must be clearly visible—the pilot opens the parachute and attempts to manage and steer the remainder of the flight so as to land as close as possible to the center of the target circle, which has a diameter of 10 m. The landing is measured to the nearest centimeter, and the way the feet touch down is also evaluated.

Furthermore, the skydiver’s appearance is also evaluated (not the pilots’, ha ha...). The suit, the harness—everything should resemble that of a real skydiver as closely as possible. →

There are surprisingly few incidents; sometimes a jumper gets tangled in the lines, a parachute fails to open, or the pilot loses control for a moment.

The final rounds were held in a cup format. The top 16 jumpers qualified for this stage, which made the competition very exciting. Who would have thought it? Local jumper Werner Born made it to the finals, where he was narrowly defeated. Everyone involved was thrilled. The Freifaller-Euro was a great event and excellent publicity for the hobby of model flying in the RC skydiving category. For the rankings, see: www.modellflug.ch